# Install surfer with Homebrew, Nix Waveform viewer, supporting VCD, FST, or GHW format. Version 0.7.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-05-11. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:surfer ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install surfer ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#surfer ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/su/surfer/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:surfer - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 0.7.0 - **Source summary:** Waveform viewer, supporting VCD, FST, or GHW format - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** EUPL-1.2 - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-05-11T18:34:18-04:00 - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - surfer (cli) - surfer (alias) ## Build dependencies - pkgconf - rust ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 0.7.0 - Package-manager updated: 2026-05-11 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://surfer-project.org/ - info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories. ## Project history and usage Surfer is a Rust waveform viewer for hardware-development waveforms, supporting VCD, FST, GHW, and FTR-style inputs. Official documentation describes it as a configurable native and web-capable viewer with a separate server mode named surver. ### Project history Surfer's official changelog says the project is still in the 0.x phase and treats releases as mostly symbolic snapshots on a six-week release cycle. Official GitLab release metadata shows early public release tags in 2024, followed by rapid feature growth through 2025 and 2026. ### Adoption history The README says native builds are recommended for day-to-day use, while a browser-hosted version exists for trying the tool. The documentation also notes package-manager availability for some Linux distributions and Homebrew, matching the supplied Homebrew and Nix package facts. ### How it is used Surfer is used to inspect HDL simulation waveforms locally, through a browser/WebAssembly build, or through surver client-server mode when waveform files live on another machine. Its feature list emphasizes snappy zooming, command-line interaction, configurable colors, waveform translations, VS Code integration, and remote/server support. ### Why package nerds care Package nerds care about Surfer because it is part of the modern Rust-and-open-EDA tooling wave: a native GUI/TUI-adjacent developer tool with cargo installation, Homebrew packaging, web artifacts, and platform-specific binary concerns. It packages the everyday debugging surface for HDL developers rather than the compiler itself. ### Timeline - 2024: GitLab releases show 0.1.0 and later 0.2.0/0.3.0 public tags - 2025: Changelog records 0.4.0 and 0.5.0 feature releases - 2026: GitLab releases show 0.6.0 and 0.7.0 releases ### Related projects - Surfer is related to HDL waveform formats and tools such as VCD, FST, GHW, GTKWave/libfst, GHDL, Spade integrations, and VS Code waveform workflows. ### Sources - - - - - source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** surfer - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - surfer: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/su/surfer/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Text processing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata. - [Developer build packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/developer-build-tools/) - Matched build, compiler, generator, or developer workflow metadata. - [Language runtime packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/language-runtime-packages/) - Matched language runtime, compiler, or interpreter metadata. - [pkgconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pkgconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [rust](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/rust/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [sv2v](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/sv2v/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, eda, hardware-description-language, hdl. - [nvc](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/nvc/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, hardware-description-language, hdl. - [surelog](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/surelog/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, eda, hardware-description-language. - [icarus-verilog](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/icarus-verilog/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, eda, hdl. - [svlint](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/svlint/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, eda, hdl. - [easyeda2kicad](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/easyeda2kicad/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, eda. - [gerbv](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gerbv/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, eda. - [gplcver](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gplcver/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, eda. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/surfer.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/surfer.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph